A fleet parts manager’s relationship with key parts vendor(s) is absolutely vital.

“We’re still dealing with the emotional, so when a part is just a part, the difference can be the person you’d least expect: the delivery person or the counterman. You might do 99% of the right things but have a delivery person with poor customer service ruin all the good work the rest of the team has put forth,” recounted one key district manager for a major aftermarket supplier.

This is just one of the insightful findings from recent research conducted by Fleet Equipment in which “parts purchasing” was examined from the fleet perspective as to draw conclusions and help you, the fleet equipment manager, make even smarter parts purchases.

Parts buying decisions continue to be based on availability, price, relationship, with quality as “an assumed item”. While a specific brand often plays a role in the decision, price is paramount, assuming the brand is competitive.

“In today’s world, you have to be able to show the value-added, as price does drive a good percentage of the buying decision. The overall product lifecycle cost is what needs to be shown to a fleet, not just the up-front cost,” offered another aftermarket field manager.

Clearly, inventory cost is foremost in most fleet managers’ minds, with the most frequently used items at the best cost-value being first in the decision process. More common items like hoses, clamps, fittings, lights, cleansers, bearings, seals and belts are frequently dictated by price, but anything that helps vehicle uptime will be looked at very carefully for the best cost vs. uptime benefit.

Several fleet managers underscored the importance of minimizing parts inventory (cost and space), since in some cases parts rooms are smaller and expense pressure and availability have allowed most fleets to shrink their on-hand inventory. Same day/next day availability from WDs and dealers has been a huge factor in this regard.

As one major distributor pointed out in a previous column, “All fleets are not the same. The mix of vehicles in the fleet is a critical factor in how they purchase and where they establish value in the supply chain. Most of our customers are what I would call smart buyers who buy for inventory. They use computer systems to establish min-max order points. Fleets consider the criticality of the part and the replenishment issues that could delay delivery.”

Fleets stressed the importance of parts inventory turns. They acknowledged a higher quantity usage of brake shoes, tires, drums, batteries and other consumables often bought in bulk for the best discount.
Another district manager suggested fleets are buying what they need and in many cases, they are purchasing from their source—OE dealer and warehouse distributor—every day.

According to the research, parts buying decisions are dictated by the size of the fleet. A small fleet relies on its technicians, yet as the fleet grows, that decision often moves into the corporate offices and is directly managed by a director of parts or director of maintenance. With cumulative input from maintenance, operations and finance, a fleet determines the parts brand and volume to be purchased.

One responder stated that the purchase of parts by a fleet depends somewhat on the classification of the fleet. For-hire fleets with more current model year vehicles tend to purchase their parts at dealers, versus government and private fleets who tend to use the WD more since they have older vehicles.

At the end of the day, most vendors do an excellent job servicing the fleet, and vendors must meet all the expectations of price, quality, availability, delivery, support, training, warranty and ideally one or two differentiators, or they won’t capture the attention of the fleet customer.